Tamper proof bottle closure



April 1970 H. CRISCI EYTAL 3504,81

TAMPER PROOF BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed NOV. 25, 1968 INV ENTO R. Harry Crlscl BY v ATTIQNEY.

United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tamper proof milk bottle and closure combination in which the bottle has configurations about the neck thereof registering with configurations on a separable portion of a closure engageable therewith. The bottle and closure being formed of resilient material and permitting engagement of the closure on the bottle neck by threading and flexibly yielding engagement of the registering configurations which are arranged to prevent reverse rotation as necessary to remove the closure whereby a portion of the closure breaks away and remains on the neck of the bottle indicating tampering.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to bottles and closures therefor designed to indicate the removal of the closure so that the purchaser may be assured that the contents of the bottle are as originally packed.

Description of the prior art Prior structures of this type have generally been em ployed on glass bottles through the addition thereto of a device engageable with the neck configuration of the bottle and also engageable with a closure to be positioned thereover, see for example US. Patents 2,172,159 and 1,190,708. Such devices are incapable of economic mass production and assembly as obviously necessary in a milk bottling facility where the present invention is successfully employed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Milk bottles of the one gallon or half gallon size blow molded of resilient flexible plastic material employing resilient flexible plastic closure caps threadably engaged thereon are becoming widely used in distributing milk and the desirability of readily indicating to the final consumer the uncontaminated unopened bottle is obvious. The present invention forms a plurality of ratchet like teeth on two areas of the neck of the bottle and utilizes a threaded closure cap of integrally molded resilient plastic construction having an annular ring so formed as to be readily broken away from the remainder of the cap.

The ring includes a plurality of ratchet configurations on its inner surface which are registerable With and rotatable over the ratchet formations on the bottle neck due to the resiliency of the ring portion of the cap. This disposition of the ratchet configurations on the ring and the ratchet portions of the bottle neck are such that reverse threading motion as necessary to remove the closure result in the break away of the ring from the cap leaving it in engaged position on the ratchet portion of the bottle and clearly indicating that the closure has been removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a plastic milk bottle showing the neck and ratchet configurations thereabout.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the top of a closure.

3 Claims FIGURE 4 is a side view thereof with parts broken away and parts in cross section.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom view of the closure seen in FIGURES 3 and 4.

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of a portion of a milk bottle showing a ring portion of the closure of FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 retained thereon.

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of a portion of a milk bottle showing the closure being removed therefrom with the indicating ring separated and in the position illustrated in FIGURE 6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In its illustrated form the tamper proof bottle and closure comprise a cooperating structure and specifically the neck portion of a plastic milk bottle such as the one gallon milk jug commonly used for distributing fresh milk.

In FIGURE 1 of the drawings the bottle is indicated by the numeral 10, a portion of a handle integrally molded therewith by the numeral 11 and the neck of the bottle by the numeral 12. The neck 12 at its uppermost annular portion has a circular configuration incorporating oppositely disposed ratchet sections 13, the individual angular tooth portions of which are inclined in a clockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

By referring to FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the remaining upstanding portion of the neck 12 has a spiral thread pattern 14 formed thereon so that a threaded closure 15 such as illustrated in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings may be threadably engaged thereon.

By referring now to FIGURES 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that the closure 15 has an annular flange 16 and a break away annular ring 17 integrally molded with the closure by interconnecting frangible elements 18. The annular ring 17 is of larger diameter than the annular flange 16 of the closure and the annular ring 17 has a plurality of circumferentially spaced inwardly facing angular projections 19. In the top plan view of FIGURE 3, the annular ring 17 with its inwardly facing angular projections 19 may be seen and it will be observed that the angular projections 19 which are circumferentially spaced about the inner surface of the annular ring 17 are positioned so that they incline in a counter-clockwise direction.

It will thus be apparent that when the closure as seen in top plan view in FIGURE 3 of the drawings is positioned on the bottle 10 and specifically the neck 12 thereof as seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawings and the closure 15 is rotated clockwise as in turning the same downwardly on the thread pattern 14, it will cause the angular projections 19 to slide over the teeth of the oppositely disposed ratchet sections 13 formed on the neck 12 of the bottle. The sliding action is possible because the annular ring 17 is supported in spaced relation to the closure 15 by the plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending frangible elements 18 and the spacing between the elements 18 is great enough so that the annular ring 17 is quite flexible and capable of movement toward and away from the annular flange 16 of the closure 15 which permits the hereinbefore described action of the sliding engagement of the angular projections 19 relative to the oppositely disposed ratchet sections 13.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the device would be inoperative if it were not for the resiliency of the material from which the closure and its annular ring 15 are formed and most importantly the arrangement and spacing of the frangible elements 18.

By referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings it will be seen that there is an annular spiral thread pattern 20 on the inner surface of the annular flange 16 and an annular tapered depending flange 21 on the inner surface of the horizontal portion of the closure 15. The flange 21 registers with the opening in the neck 12 of the bottle so that a cross sectionally U-shaped seal is realized between the closure and upper end of the neck 12 above the point where the thread pattern 14 thereon terminates. The spiral thread pattern on the inside of the annular flange 16 of the closure threadably engages the thread pattern 14 on the neck 12 of the bottle.

It will thus be seen that when the closure 15 is turned downwardly on to the neck 12 of the bottle in a clockwise direction by reason of the engaging thread patterns 14 and 20, the annular ring 17 with its annular projections 19 will distort and move to permit the same to slide over and move by the oppositely disposed ratchet sections 13 on the bottle 10. At such time as the closure 15 seals against the top of the neck 12 of the bottle 10, the ring 17 will be in full engagement with the ratchet sections 13 as best illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7 of the drawings. In these figures, the ring 17 is shown separated from the remainder of the closure 15 and specifically the annular flange 16 thereof to which it was originally atached by the frangible elements 18 and the interlocking relationship is clearly seen in FIGURE 6 of the drawings.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that when the closure 15 is grasped by the knurled outer surface 22 and an attempt made to rotate it in counterclockwise relation so as to remove it from its threaded engagement on the neck of the bottle 10, the registering configurations of the angular projections 19 and the ratchet sections 13 will prevent rotation of the annular ring 17 which will then break away from the closure 15 by the breaking of the relatively few frangible elements 18.

In FIGURE 7 of the drawings this action is illustrated with the closure having been rotated in counter-clockwise relation and thereby threadably removed from most of the neck of the bottle while the ring 17 remains in position serving as a telltale signal that the cap has been removed.

It will thus be obvious to those skilled in the art that a tamper proof bottle and closure has been disclosed which provides a sure and definite indication of the removal of the cap from the bottle. The presence of the annular ring 17 indicates the severance of the two parts of the closure and if the cap and the severed ring portion 17 are both removed and the cap portion replaced without the ring the absence of the ring also indicates tampering with the closure. The invention thereby achieves its principal object.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a bottle and a closure therefor wherein the bottle has a threaded neck defining an access opening, the neck having an exterior configuration including a ratchet section, and a closure comprising a threaded cap engageable with said neck, a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending frangible elements on said closure, a thin flexible annular ring carried on the outer ends of said frangible elements in spaced relation to said closure, a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially inwardly extending angular projections on the inner surface of said annular ring circumferentially spaced from said frangible elements and being arranged for registry with said ratchet section on said bottle neck, said annular ring flexing outwardly between said frangible elements as said angular projections and ratchet section engage to permit slipover engagement of said angular projections and said ratchet section when said closure and ring are rotated in one direction and said frangible elements and ratchet section so formed as to prevent rotation of said annular ring in the opposite direction.

2. The combination bottle and closure set forth in claim 1 and wherein said ratchet section on said bottle neck occupies less than half the diameter of said neck.

3. The bottle and closure combination set forth in claim 1 and wherein there are two ratchet sections on said bottle neck arranged in oppositely disposed relation.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS GEORGE T. HALL, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

